Children whose mother had insufficient iodine intake during pregnancy have poor literacy rates, finds Tasmanian study. Tasmanian scientists have requested all expectant females to include iodine supplements. Iodine is important for proper neurological development of the baby and its deficiency in pregnancy is hence harmful.

With its focus on preventive medicine, holistic approaches to health can be most helpful in many of the common problems of childhood. If conditions are brought under control during childhood they can often be avoided entirely in adult life. Examples are asthma and eczema, both of which can start at a very early age and become an ongoing theme throughout the persons life. If treated successfully with herbs there is rarely a continuation of the disease into adulthood.

Kids get sick a lot, about six to eight times each year with the common cold alone. And for some parents, herbal remedies are a natural alternative to prescription or over-the-counter medications. In fact, natural products accounted for the most common alternative and complementary medicine therapy used by children in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While there is an almost perfect formula for creating a healthy child—exercise, adequate amounts of sleep, a healthy diet, and judicious supplementation—there is no foolproof way to get parents and kids to buy into the plan. Temptations from the dark side are too plentiful and provide too much instant gratification. Sticking to the recommendations means waiting years to see the rewards, and most people today—young and old alike—can’t project much further than a few hours at a time.

New research from the UK suggests that taking a daily supplement of DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, could be a simple and effective way to improve reading and behaviour in healthy but underperforming children.

Healthy kids who underperform in school may benefit from increased DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) intake, as University of Oxford, England, researcher found supplementation with algal DHA can help improve reading and behavior in such children.

A new study in the journal Diabetes suggests that pregnant women should make sure to have sufficient vitamin D in their systems in order to reduce risk of type 1 diabetes in their children. The study showed that pregnant women who had highest levels of vitamin D measured as 25-hydroxy-vitamin D during pregnancy were 100 percent less likely to have a child who will develop type 1 diabetes prior to 15 years of age, compared to those with lowest vitamin D levels.